**Why it matters**: At scale, design choices directly impact reliability, latency, and cost. Wrong decisions compound across jobs and teams.
PySpark CSV join → Parquet: `df1 = spark.read.option('header',True).csv('path1'); df2 = spark.read.csv('path2'); joined = df1.join(df2, 'key'); joined.write.mode('overwrite').partitionBy('date').parquet('output')`. For partition efficiency: `partitionBy` on high-cardinality filter columns....
The complete answer continues with detailed implementation patterns, architectural trade-offs, and production-grade considerations. It covers performance optimization strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples from companies like Fragma Data Systems. The answer also includes follow-up discussion points that interviewers commonly explore.
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